NāMeaKanu Cultivatingplantsand peopleinHawaiʻi
2025 ASU Global Intensive Experience
Kohala, Hawaiʻi
December 13-19, 2025
Our week-long immersive experience in Kohala, Hawaiʻi explored Native Hawaiian relationships to ʻāina (land), wai (water), and mea kanu (cultivated plants) through cultural, ecological, ethical, and historical lenses.
Eight students from diverse disciplines took part in the experience, engaging in handson service learning, moʻolelo (story) sharing with local practitioners, discussions on ahupuaʻa systems (ridge to reef island stewardship practices), regenerative agriculture and aquaculture, and the cultivation of virtue.The course was steeped in reflection and ethical engagement usingASU’s Principled Innovation framework, emphasizing character building and Hawaiian cultural values for human flourishing.
The experience was led and organized by Hawaiʻi-based staff from theASU Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems, Carly Wyman,Tuki Drake, and Katie Crowe, with faculty support from professors Kathleen Merrigan andTyler DesRoches in theASU School of Sustainability
ʻIole:Aliving laboratory
The immersive experience was based out of ʻIole (ee-OH-lay), a nonprofit organization encompassing 2,400 acres on the northern tip of Hawaiʻi Island.Their mission is to bridge Indigenous practices and modern science to facilitate human transformation towards an abundant future for Hawaiʻi and create models for global impact.Through their relationships withArizona State University, University of Hawaiʻi, and Hawai‘i Community Foundation, as well as with local community partners such as Kohala High School, this “living scientific laboratory” serves as a place for learning and problem solving for a thriving future. ʻIole’s lands are steeped in history, including a site on which King Kamehameha I cultivated loʻi kalo (wetland taro terraces) to feed a growing Native Hawaiian population, as well as the historic Reverend Elias Bond homestead and girls school.
Pairs of students stayed in bungalows and enjoyed colorful sunrises from their lanai (patio).Through shared meals in the historic dining hall, an in-depth property tour with cultural specialist KuliamaiAveiro-Kalaniopio, and on-site classes and workshops, students were immersed in nature, culture, and history throughout the experience.
Understanding culture and context
Native Hawaiian cultural experiences were woven throughout the week, beginning with a traditional ʻawa ceremony during the welcome reception From traditional tattooing practices to hula as a cultural art for self-transformation, students were given the opportunity to learn and engage hands-on with cultural values and practices.
Being on the ʻāina, or the land, allowed me to bridge Western academic frameworks with Indigenous ways of knowing in a way that felt integrative rather than extractive.”
JoeRamos MSstudent,SustainableFoodSystems
Hawaiʻi taught me that caring for the land and caring for people go hand in hand ”
— Akshi Ahlawat BS student, Biomedical Sciences & Psychology (Pre-Med)
Engaging diverse perspectives
Though physically isolated from all major continents, Hawaiʻi is just one chain of islands in the wider Pacific island community, where a multiplicity of peoples have a shared rich and interwoven history Students learned about the Hawaiian cultural and linguistic ties to the region, including through traditional foods and crops.
An emphasis was placed on the traditional ahupuaʻa system that once subdivided Hawaiian lands into sections from the ridge of the mountains to the reef for maximal ecological and community abundance.This concept was reinforced through a series of site visits representing actors across the food system, from ridge to reef
Course Schedule
Day 1: Saturday, December 13
Welcome reception and dinner at ʻIole
Traditional ʻawa ceremony
Day 2: Sunday, December 14
Breakfast at ʻIole
Lecture on Hawai‘i and the Interwoven Pacific: History, Language, Food, Culture, and Traditions Overview
SNAP Challenge Activity at Takata’s Grocery Store
Lunch at ʻIole
Lecture on Food Insecurity in Hawaiʻi and Beyond
Lecture on Hawaiian, Polynesian, and Austronesian culture
as seen through Traditional Tattoo and Hula
Hula Workshop with Hālau Haʻa Kea o Nā Wai Hua Lani
Dinner and student reflections at ʻIole
Day 3: Monday, December 15
Breakfast at ʻIole
Visit to Ocean Grace Farms
Lunch at Queen’s Marketplace
Free time at Hāpuna Beach
Dinner at K.O. Pizza
Principled Innovation Activity
Student reflections at ʻIole
Day 4: Tuesday, December 16
Breakfast at ʻIole
Lecture on Ahupuaʻa Ecology
Historic tour of ʻIole
Lecture on Cultivating Plants and People
Lunch at Gill’s Lanai
Service learning visit to Kohala Food Hub
Dinner at Kapaʻa Beach Park
Student reflections at ʻIole
Day 5: Wednesday, December 17
Breakfast at ʻIole
Visit to Kohala High School Academy of Sustainability
Visit to Parker Ranch and Kamuela Hardwoods
Lunch at Waimea Butcher Shop
Visit to Kalāhuipuaʻa Fishponds at Mauna Lani
Dinner and student reflections at ʻIole
Day 6: Thursday, December 18
Breakfast at ʻIole
Visit and lunch at Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii (NELHA) Ocean Science and Technology Park
Tour of Blue Ocean Mariculture
Tour of ASU Ridge to Reef Restoration Center
Visit to HIP Agriculture with farm-to-table dinner
Closing student reflections at ʻIole
Day 7: Friday, December 19
Breakfast and wrap-up discussions at ʻIole
“
“
Wemetsomanyincrediblepeoplewho sharedtheircultures,histories,and lifestyles.AtOceanGraceFarms,we gottosee,upclose,howtheygrow cacaoandturnitintothemostdelicious chocolate.”
LaylaMushtaq MSUSstudent,Sustainability Solutions
“[Thisexperience]allowedmetoreflect onmylifeandhowIcanincorporate pono,orgoodness,inthewayI currentlylive.Thistripwasextremely valuabletomeandmyundergrad educationatASU.”
AvaCrane BSstudent,BiologicalSciences& EarthandSpaceExploration
Wespentanafternoonvolunteeringat theKohalaFoodHub,whichhas createdawebof 100farmsthatwork togetherasacommunitytobuyandsell inwaysindividualfarmscouldnot It wasinspiring!”
KamaleiPahukula BAstudent,Communication
Integrating traditional food experiences
The week would not have been complete without a focus on local food. Students indulged in delicious preparations including fresh poke bowls, catered meals featuring local ingredients, hand-picked fruits, and a farmto-table dinner culminating experience An afternoon of service learning with the Kohala Food Hub reinforced learning concepts, as the group helped to pack locally-grown produce for distribution to give back to this food-insecure community
Students learned about the decline of the ahupuaʻa system and the subsequent century of export-oriented commodity crop plantations, through to today, where food is dependent on just-in-time imports to keep store shelves full This included a field trip to a local market, where students completed the “SNAPchallenge” – finding food items to prepare a day’s worth of meals for under $10 total.
The people
5
8
16
Arizona and Hawaiʻi-based ASU staff and faculty
Arizona and Hawaiʻi-based undergraduate and graduate students
Community educators: Farmers, aquaculturists, cultural practitioners, conservation scientists, teachers
The experience
5 5
10
Structured lectures with a total of 8 class hours and additional daily reflection discussions
Hawaiian cultural experiences, including a hula workshop, Native Hawaiian fishpond tour, ʻawa ceremony, and more
Site visits encompassing service learning, and farm, ranch, and aquaculture tours
“AsTuki shared his knowledge of moʻolelo, cultivating deep and meaningful connections to place and the relationship between ʻāina and kānaka, it felt familiar Far from the high desert where my tribe is from, I was reminded of the Navajo word K’é, which captures the same meaning. I experienced the rooted common wisdom of Indigenous people.”
—ChandleeBegay BSstudent,OceanFutures& Sustainability
“
One word to describe my experience in this program is transformative ”
—VyTruong BSstudent,PoliticalScience& Government
Wewouldliketogiveaspecialthankyoutothestudents whoshowedupwithopenmindsandenthusiasmtolearn, andtothecommunityeducatorswhograciouslyshared theirexpertinsightswithourstudents:
ToddApo–CEO,ʻIole
KuliamaiAveiro-Kalaniopio–ʻIoleCulturalSpecialist
GabbyCapp–SustainableFoodSystemsMSstudent, ArizonaStateUniversity
AubrieChristensen–ExecutiveDirector,‘Iole ZacharyJudd–VicePresidentofLong-termPlanning, ParkerRanch
DashiellKuhr&ErikaKuhr–Co-directors,HIP Agriculture
PiʻiLaʻeha–NaturalResourceManager,Kalāhuipuaʻa FishpondsatMaunaLani
KimoMiranda,KinohiNeves,NamakaDeMello–HālauHaʻaKeaoNāWaiHuaLani
MayaParish–ExecutiveDirector,KohalaFoodHub
FedericoRotman–VicePresidentofHatchery Operations,BlueOceanMariculture
DeanSnelling–NaturalResource/AgricultureTeacher, KohalaHighSchool
KatieWortman&CoryWortman–OceanGraceFarms
MaianaVillegas&JasonCabilin–ASURidgetoReef
The Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems is a unit of the ASU School of Sustainability and the Global Futures Laboratory
globalfutures.asu.edu/food/
